Yeah, my flexibility is way off. I just realized when doing some stretches, that I cannot sit up straight with my legs flat meaning that my hamstrings are stiff as hell! I am amazed I can't get a 90 degree angle because I can front kick pretty high, I guess it has to do with momentum though.

Don't feel bad, I can't make a dead 90 either, and I have been trying to stretch my hamstrings more to do real squats (IE: Bar and weight). The funny thing is I learned to touch my toes and further by curling my back. Same thing with your front kicks, and mine. Your hip/spine is actually curling, more obvious doing leg swing. Put your back flat on a wall and see how high you can front kick (It won't be much).

Yeah, I'll be doing some resistance squats as well, but I do not have access to weights at the moment. I consider that a non-martial arts workout since I am doing general training as well. I meant starting a wide squat routine. Wide squats seem to work the inner thigh (abductor?). It doesn't isolate that area, so I get a full leg workout and by going a little deep, I get some type of stretch as well. It seems like the wider my legs, the more that area is worked. Maybe because of stabilization?

I never thought about the hip/spine bending attributing to higher kicks. I figured it was just the momentum of my leg that did it. If I have my leg bend at the knee, I have full range of motion. I figured that by bringing my knee high on the chamber and snapping my leg out as fast as possible, I was able to get a split second of a better angle, but what you are saying makes more sense as I do not feel any type of stretch by front kicking high!

Thanks for that observation. I am going to start stretching my hamstrings using a belt so I can do it while laying on the floor (I saw it in a yoga video). I will try to hold a greater than 90 degree stretch for 30 - 45 seconds. This ensures that my back is straight (as long as my butt stays on the floor) and that I am holding the stretch long enough to relax the reflex effect of my muscles.

Everyone always says that front splits are easy... yeah maybe if you've been doing it your whole life... I don't think splits are important, but the people in my class that can do splits have awesome looking kicks, even the ones that are there for only a few days (once they get the technique right). My kicks look awesome as long as I am kicking below the waist, but then when targets are being held, I am forced to kick higher. I don't know how, but my kicks get up there, but they lose a lot of power. I am probably curling my spine somehow in sidekicks and roundhouses also :P

Last edited by Heinrich17; 6/27/2009 10:43pm at .
Reason: Paragraphs did not split for some reason...